Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,260,000 shares, an increase of 5.6% from the December 15th total of 2,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 667,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CRL shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (down previously from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Friday. CLSA cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $164.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, November 18th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $203.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “sell” rating and a $151.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Charles River Laboratories International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, Director Richard F. Wallman sold 6,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.12, for a total value of $1,430,930.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,676,862.32. This represents a 34.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 135,927.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,740,768 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $736,819,000 after acquiring an additional 3,738,018 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 40.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,760,781 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $346,821,000 after purchasing an additional 509,163 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 825,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $170,615,000 after purchasing an additional 163,056 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,053,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 12.4% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,004,486 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $207,507,000 after buying an additional 110,725 shares during the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of CRL stock traded down $2.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $163.77. 1,146,633 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 480,849. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $198.40. The firm has a market cap of $8.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 6.62 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.48. Charles River Laboratories International has a fifty-two week low of $160.85 and a fifty-two week high of $275.00.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 14.29%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $975.99 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.72 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.18 EPS for the current year.

About Charles River Laboratories International

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc provides drug discovery, non-clinical development, and safety testing services in the United States, Europe, Canada, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Research Models and Services (RMS), Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA), and Manufacturing Solutions (Manufacturing).